Putin eases temporary rule for exporters as rouble recovers

Russian President Vladimir Putin is exempting exporters from a regulation that required them to exchange half of their foreign earnings into roubles, as the Russian currency bounces back.
A government commission will determine how much of their revenues they must turn over for exchange, according to the presidential decree published on Thursday.
The move follows Western sanctions imposed in response to Moscow's war on neighbouring Ukraine.
As the value of the rouble fell, Moscow introduced a set of measures to stabilize the currency, including a temporary ban on citizens transferring money abroad and stopping banks from paying out foreign currency to citizens.
A further regulation required companies receiving foreign currency income from exports to exchange it.
However, the rouble then rose as sanctions also led to a drop in imports, and so of demand for dollars and euros.
The euro cost slightly more than 62 roubles on Thursday, its highest point before the war since 2015.
So Putin's latest move seeks to weaken the rouble slightly again to make the Russian economy more competitive.